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乙女の本棚 #3
The Surgery Room: Maiden's Bookshelf
Another spectacular collaboration between a literary giant and the illustrator of Touken Ranbu! The Maiden's Bookshelf series continues with this eerie classic from the great Izumi Kyoka.
“But you couldn’t have known!”
A mysterious encounter in the surgery room leads down the paths of memory after a young woman refuses anesthetic to protect her secret...
At once dreamlike and strikingly modern, Kyoka Izumi’s 1895 tale of doomed love has never been more wrenching than it is here, presented alongside Towoji Honojiro’s haunting and evocative illustrations.
“But you couldn’t have known!”
A mysterious encounter in the surgery room leads down the paths of memory after a young woman refuses anesthetic to protect her secret...
At once dreamlike and strikingly modern, Kyoka Izumi’s 1895 tale of doomed love has never been more wrenching than it is here, presented alongside Towoji Honojiro’s haunting and evocative illustrations.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1895
2 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Kyōka Izumi
323 books127 followersJapanese profile: 泉 鏡花
Kyōka was born Kyōtarō Izumi on November 4, 1873 in the Shitashinmachi section of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, to Seiji Izumi, a chaser and inlayer of metallic ornaments, and Suzu Nakata, daughter of a tsuzumi hand-drum player from Edo and younger sister to lead protagonist of the Noh theater, Kintarō Matsumoto. Because of his family's impovershed circumstances, he attended the tuition-free Hokuriku English-Japanese School, run by Christian missionaries.
Even before he entered grade school, young Kintarō's mother introduced him to literature in picture-books interspersed with text called kusazōshi, and his works would later show the influence of this early contact with such visual forms of story-telling. In April 1883, at ten years old, Kyōka lost his mother, who was 29 at the time. It was a great blow to his young mind, and he would attempt to recreate memories of her in works throughout his literary career.
At a friend's boarding house in April 1889, Kyōka was deeply impressed by Ozaki Kōyō's "Amorous Confessions of Two Nuns" and decided to pursue a career in literature. That June he took a trip to Toyama Prefecture. At this time he worked as a teacher in private preparatory schools and spent his free time running through yomihon and kusazōshi. In November of that year, however, Kyōka's aspiration to an artistic career drove him to Tokyo, where he intended to enter the tutelage of Kōyō himself.
On 19 November 1891, he called on Kōyō in Ushigome(part of present-day Shinjuku) without prior introduction and requested that he be allowed into the school immediately. He was accepted, and from that time began life as a live-in apprentice. Other than a brief trip to Kanazawa in December of the following year, Kyōka spent all of his time in the Ozaki household, proving his value to Kōyō through correcting his manuscripts and household tasks. Kyōka greatly adored his teacher, thinking of him as a teacher of more than literature, a benefactor who nourished his early career before he gained a name for himself. He felt deeply a personal indebtedness to Kōyō, and continued to admire the author throughout his life.
Kyōka was born Kyōtarō Izumi on November 4, 1873 in the Shitashinmachi section of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, to Seiji Izumi, a chaser and inlayer of metallic ornaments, and Suzu Nakata, daughter of a tsuzumi hand-drum player from Edo and younger sister to lead protagonist of the Noh theater, Kintarō Matsumoto. Because of his family's impovershed circumstances, he attended the tuition-free Hokuriku English-Japanese School, run by Christian missionaries.
Even before he entered grade school, young Kintarō's mother introduced him to literature in picture-books interspersed with text called kusazōshi, and his works would later show the influence of this early contact with such visual forms of story-telling. In April 1883, at ten years old, Kyōka lost his mother, who was 29 at the time. It was a great blow to his young mind, and he would attempt to recreate memories of her in works throughout his literary career.
At a friend's boarding house in April 1889, Kyōka was deeply impressed by Ozaki Kōyō's "Amorous Confessions of Two Nuns" and decided to pursue a career in literature. That June he took a trip to Toyama Prefecture. At this time he worked as a teacher in private preparatory schools and spent his free time running through yomihon and kusazōshi. In November of that year, however, Kyōka's aspiration to an artistic career drove him to Tokyo, where he intended to enter the tutelage of Kōyō himself.
On 19 November 1891, he called on Kōyō in Ushigome(part of present-day Shinjuku) without prior introduction and requested that he be allowed into the school immediately. He was accepted, and from that time began life as a live-in apprentice. Other than a brief trip to Kanazawa in December of the following year, Kyōka spent all of his time in the Ozaki household, proving his value to Kōyō through correcting his manuscripts and household tasks. Kyōka greatly adored his teacher, thinking of him as a teacher of more than literature, a benefactor who nourished his early career before he gained a name for himself. He felt deeply a personal indebtedness to Kōyō, and continued to admire the author throughout his life.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 23, 2023
Strange, beautiful, and strangely beautiful. They just don't write weird fiction like they used to.
August 4, 2024
Review of Books 1 to 5 in the Maiden's Bookshelf series here.
Driven by curiosity, the narrator successfully implores a doctor to let him watch the surgery that’ll be performed on Countess Kifune. However, what happens in the surgery room is something no one could’ve ever expected as the aforementioned countess refuses to have the life-saving surgery unless it can be done without anaesthesia — all because she fears anaesthesia will loosen her tongue and spill the secret she has held close to her heart for many years.
This Japanese gothic short story has two parts. The first is set in the mysterious present while the other is set in the past where we gain clues to answer the mystery. Together, it shows us that this tale is one of doomed loved and that it is yet another tragic one in the Maiden’s Bookshelf series.
Driven by curiosity, the narrator successfully implores a doctor to let him watch the surgery that’ll be performed on Countess Kifune. However, what happens in the surgery room is something no one could’ve ever expected as the aforementioned countess refuses to have the life-saving surgery unless it can be done without anaesthesia — all because she fears anaesthesia will loosen her tongue and spill the secret she has held close to her heart for many years.
This Japanese gothic short story has two parts. The first is set in the mysterious present while the other is set in the past where we gain clues to answer the mystery. Together, it shows us that this tale is one of doomed loved and that it is yet another tragic one in the Maiden’s Bookshelf series.
July 18, 2023
This is a republishing of a 1895 Japanese gothic tale about a countess wanting to have surgery without anesthesia...for personal reasons! Certified weirdo Kyoka Izumi's writing mixed with pretty impressive fashion illustration makes this small book into a sweet treat. Even the body horror is more beautiful than horrifying.
March 13, 2024
3.5 🌟
July 18, 2023
3.25/5
A rather ambiguous Japanese short story from 1895 that is a tense mystery from beginning to end. Very clearly a product of its time with regards to its perspective on sex workers and lower-class women. While the illustrations were beautiful, they felt a bit disjointed from the actual story and historical context, which I felt didn't allow me to be immersed in the text and setting as much as I would have liked, but beautifully and descriptively written (or at least the translation is).
A rather ambiguous Japanese short story from 1895 that is a tense mystery from beginning to end. Very clearly a product of its time with regards to its perspective on sex workers and lower-class women. While the illustrations were beautiful, they felt a bit disjointed from the actual story and historical context, which I felt didn't allow me to be immersed in the text and setting as much as I would have liked, but beautifully and descriptively written (or at least the translation is).
August 7, 2025
I read this a few days ago but forgot to mark when I finished it
June 7, 2023
Out of the three Maiden's Bookshelfs currently released, this would probably be my least favourite, Hell in a Bottle being my favourite thus far. However, this is a beautifully illstrated story, and something I really want to reread from time to time. It's a very short story that from start to finish is engaging. I can't wait for the next two stories to release, as all of these are quality if only for the art alone being stunning.
May 20, 2025
Obviously the content is not appropriate, but this is structured almost exactly like a children's book, relatively brief text on each page with lavish illustrations. The story is fine, but really, the art carries it, it's strange and often non-literal (e.g. an incision of a scalpel is represented by women, representing the blood, emerging from a crevasse) but very beautiful.
June 23, 2023
Odd little story, the art is absolutely stunning
January 2, 2024
The art is so gorgeousszzz, and the story honestly i don't really understand that well but it's very beautifully and romantically written
January 8, 2024
Confusing
October 30, 2024
A Romeo and Juliet type story with themes of class.
January 1, 2025
This didn't make sense at all, but the art is pretty so I'll give in 3 stars
July 9, 2025
Quite possibly the prettiest Illustrations in this entire series but the story was a bit confusing and I had to read it twice. It was okayish especially compared to the other two.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews